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The distribution of heavy elements is anomalously low in the asteroid mainbelt region compared with elsewhere in the solar system. Observational surveysalso indicate a deficit in the number of small ($ \le 50$~km size) asteroidsthat is two orders of magnitude lower than what is expected from the singlepower-law distribution that results from a collisional coagulation andfragmentation equilibrium. Here, we consider the possibility that a majorfraction of the original asteroid population may have been cleared out byJupiter's secular resonance, as it swept through the main asteroid belt duringthe depletion of the solar nebula. This effect leads to the excitation of theasteroids' orbital eccentricities. Concurrently, hydrodynamic drag andplanet-disk tidal interaction effectively damp the eccentricities of sub-100km-size and of super-lunar-size planetesimals, respectively. These combinedeffects lead to the asteroids' orbital decay and clearing from the present-daymain belt region ($\sim 2.1-3.3$~AU). The intermediate-size (50 to severalhundreds of kilometers) planetesimals therefore preferentially remain as mainbelt asteroids near their birthplaces, with modest asymptotic eccentricities.The smaller asteroids are the fragments of subsequent disruptive collisions atlater times as suggested by the present-day asteroid families. This scenarioprovides a natural explanation for both the observed low surface density andthe size distribution of asteroids in the main belt. It also offers anexplanation for the confined spatial extent of the terrestrial planet buildingblocks without the requirement of extensive migration of Jupiter.

Planetesimal clearing and size-dependent asteroid retention by secular resonance sweeping during the depletion of the solar nebula